Army Raids Tripoli Neighborhood as Rifi Says Security Forces Will Pursue Wanted Suspects
The army carried out on Tuesday raids in the al-Mankoubin neighborhood in the northern city of Tripoli in search of wanted suspects, reported Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).
It said that the raid was accompanied by the deployment of army units on al-Ahram Street in the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi stressed that the security plan is being implemented in the city and the security forces will continue their raids against suspects in Tripoli and in the Bekaa region, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Tuesday.
He made his remarks in light of the arrest on Sunday of Salafist militant Sheikh Hussam al-Sabbagh.
“The security plan was put in place on the basis of compiling lists of individuals suspected of being involved in the clashes that had taken place in Tripoli and others linked to the abduction of children and car theft in the Bekaa,” added Rifi.
“The residents of Tripoli believe that there are discrepancies in the security measures taken in the Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen neighborhoods on the one hand and between Tripoli and the Bekaa on the other,” he said.
“This has created negative sentiments among them,” he revealed.
Around 85 people have so far been arrested in the security plan that was adopted in April, stated the minister.
Some residents in Tripoli have been critical of the plan and the measures that had been taken in the city, accusing security forces of carrying out arbitrary arrests.
They have staged rallies to protest the measures, while the Mustaqbal bloc had stated earlier in July that many of the arrests were based on investigations that were conducted under psychological and mental pressure, considering that this resulted in launching accusations of terrorism against people “who were merely tasked with carrying guns.”
M.T.
H.K.
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